British entrepreneur Howard Shore buys Bel Air spec manse for $39M

Howard Shore, a British entrepreneur who founded Shore Capital Group, has purchased a Bel Air spec mansion for $39 million, The Real Deal has learned.

The sellers of the 14,200-square-foot Paul McClean-designed  property on Stradella Road were Jonathan Adler and Joe Englanoff, according to a source familiar with the deal who was not actively involved. The duo bought the property for $5.1 million in 2012, records show, with the intention of developing the estate.

The property on Stradella Road

The result of their efforts — a seven-bedroom,11-bathroom contemporary — was completed in 2014. The home has an open floor plan and features collapsible glass walls, a 3,300-square-foot lawn and a 90-foot infinity pool. Fendi designed the home’s chandeliers, as well as some of its furniture and rugs.

The most recent listing price for the property was $48 million, or about $3,380 a foot, though it went on and off the market for roughly two years with asks as high as $55 million ($3,873 a foot). Shore’s deal comes out to about $2,746 a foot. 

The long list of brokers and brokerages on the deal reads like a Who’s Who of residential real estate. The property was marketed by Ben Bacal of Rodeo Realty; Brandon Williams and Rayni Williams of Hilton & Hyland; Mauricio Umansky of the Agency; and Jade Mills of Coldwell Banker. Fred Bernstein of Westside Estate Agency represented Shore.

The property on Stradella Road

The gated mansion, set back by a guarded driveway, is deep in celebrity territory. Celebrities with properties in proximity to the house include Jennifer Aniston and Clint Eastwood. Margie Perenchio, the producer and ex-wife of billionaire Jerry Perenchio, also lives nearby. Up the street is Nile Niami’s spec home, asking a record-breaking $500 million.

The listing video for the property was elaborate. In it, two young siblings fake being sick to have a day of luxurious fun on the massive property. They swim in its absurdly large pool, play golf on its oversized lawn, and steal their parents’ Ferrari from its garage. The estate’s dramatic views of the city are flamboyantly showcased.

Many spec homes, like the Stradella mansion, have sold in the $20 to $40 million range. A slightly smaller spec estate in Holmby Hills just closed for an identical price of $39 million, a source told TRD.  In June, a spec mansion built in 2003 at 10664 Bellagio Road in Bel Air sold for $34.9 million. Last month, “Full House” creator Jeff Franklin recently sold his Hollywood Hills West spec house on Collingwood Place for $20.2 million.